A return to the age of Aquarius?

Notice the pothos on the columns. Are plants a new restaurant trend? The San Francisco Chronicle

When I think of 1970s decor, macrame and pothos come to mind. You know — the waxy-leaf plants that continue to vine and grow; at one time everyone had them, but now it seems almost no one does. Or didn’t.

Norman Hobday in 1983 in the original fern bar, Henry Africa's. The Chronicle

I hadn’t thought about them for years, but recently this hardy house plant seems to have made a resurgence at several trendy restaurants, along with other plants that have been missing from most design schemes for at least a decade.

The first place I saw them this decade around was a Gather in Berkeley, where a whole forest of plants hang over the canopy that defines the open kitchen. The restaurant has many vegetarian and vegan options, and banquettes made out of recycled leather belts, so it kind of made sense.

Since then, however, the once-humble plant has gone upscale. At Benu, you can see them on top of the slatted ceiling that covers the skylight in the dining room. At Haven in Oakland, containers that look like feedbags hang on the columns that run down the center of the restaurant. There’s also a wall of plants in Daniel Patterson’s other Oakland establishment, Plum Bar.

But maybe it’s foreshadowing. Some say the true Age of Aquarius begins on Dec. 21, 2012.